Revision as of 00:24, October 13, 2013

A chemosensor, also known as chemoreceptor, is a cell or group of cells that transduce a chemical signal into an action potential. Or, more generally, a chemosensor detects certain chemical stimuli in the environment.

Systems affected

Breathing rate

Chemoreceptors detect the levels of carbon dioxide in the blood. To do this, they monitor the concentration of hydrogen ions in the blood, which decreases the pH of the blood, as a direct consequence of the raised carbon dioxide concentration.

Heart rate

In response to this high concentration, a nervous impulse is sent to the cardiovascular centre in the medulla, which will then feedback to the sympathetic ganglia, increasing nervous impulses here, and prompting the sinoatrial node to stimulate more contractions of the myogenic cardiac muscle increase heart rate.

Sense organs

In taste sensation, the tongue is composed of 5 different taste buds: salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and savory . The salty and sour tastes work directly through the ion channels, the sweet and bitter taste work through G protein-coupled receptors, and the savoury sensation is activated by glutamate.

Noses in vertebrates and antennae in many invertebrates act as distance chemoreceptors. Molecules diffused through the air and bind to specific receptors on olfactory sensory neurons, activating an opening ion channel via G-proteins.

When inputs from the environment are significant to the survival of the organism the input must be detected. As all life processes are ultimately based on chemistry it is natural that detection and passing on of the external input will involve chemical events. The chemistry of the environment is, of course, relevant to survival, and detection of chemical input from the outside may well articulate directly with cell chemicals.

For example: The emissions of a predator's food source, such as odors or pheromones, may be in the air or on a surface where the food source has been. Cells in the head, usually the air passages or mouth, have chemical receptors on their surface that change when in contact with the emissions. The change does not stop there. It passes in either chemical or electrochemical form to the central processor, the brain or spinal cord. The resulting output from the CNS (central nervous system) makes body actions that will engage the food and enhance survival.